Hearse for Sale in Georgetown

Also, cat stalking crows.

Another Beacon Hill Shooting

The 38-year-old victim was sitting on his front porch late last night near 14th and Ferdinand -- a few blocks from McPherson's -- when two men in a silver Cadillac stopped, got out and shot at him. He was taken to Harborview, where his non-life-threatening shoulder wound was treated. Gang unit detectives are investigating.

You'll find this story (without many more details) in the Times under a "South Seattle" headline and in the P-I under "Rainier Valley."

Correction: G-Town Walking Tour on 5/24, Not 5/25

The walking tour I mentioned a few posts ago is May 24 at 10 a.m.

Georgetown Guided Walking Tour
Saturday, May 24, 2008
10:00 am - 11:00 am
start @ Old City Hall - Georgetown

http://www.historicseattle.org/events/default.aspx

My Mid Beacon Hill Rock Wall

I know this is supposed to be more of a neighborhood blog than a garden blog, but now that May is here, I can't promise you won't be seeing pictures of plants. Anyway, this post is semi-topical, since it contains pictures of plants that grow exceedingly well on the western edge of Beacon Hill.

Like Ceanothus (top left, varietal Julia Phelps) and Sedum (the yellow one is Angelina).



This rock wall was overgrown with weeds last year, so we planted a bunch of stuff to try to keep the weeds at bay. It's remarkable how well it's working. (Not that I didn't spend the entire day yesterday liberating these plants from the weeds, but still, at least they've been growing and taking up some of the space.) That stuff with the yellow flowers is donkeytail Euphorbia. The orange and pink flowery stuff at top is heather. The green leaves closest to the camera is Ceanothus "Point Reyes." The rest are various Sedum.



This Ceanothus "Point Reyes," like all Ceanothus, is evergreen.



I put some orange Carex grasses (or are those chocolate sedge? it's hard to tell...) in as well. I think I like them here.



A Mexican feather grass and a bunch of Sedum "Autumn Joy," which will turn purple and produce beautiful flowers in the fall.



That yellow stuff is Sedum "Angelina," which grows so well in our yard, I feel like I could just sprinkle it on the ground and it would start taking over.



The Crypromeria cristata are definitely not dying, as we feared this winter.





They're a total freak show. I love them.





Euphorbia, Sedum, heather.



The donkeytail Euphorbia and Ceanothus "Point Reyes" are cohabiting nicely so far.



Let's revisit the Ceanothus "Julia Phelps," since I think it might just be the loveliest plant in all of May.



This is when the blue blossoms explode like fireworks.





To get a better feel for how vivid that blue is, check it out next to the yellow Sedum.



OK, a quick peek at the front yard too. More Sedum.



And Allium in a container with a ginkgo tree.



Pretty!

Upcoming South End Events

Sorry about the lack of activity here this week -- we've been moving things (including my computer) around in the house. Things should be all settled this weekend, though.

Anyway, here are a few upcoming Beacon Hill and Georgetown events. I'll get these all added to the top of the right column soon.

Saturday, May 3, 4:00 - 9:00 p.m. -- El Centro de la Raza's Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Jefferson Community Center.

Saturday, May 10, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. -- Georgetown Art Attack (the monthly art walk). I think they have their own website, but I can't find it right now.

Wednesday, May 14, 6:30 p.m. -- Sustainable South Seattle meeting at Beacon Hill Library.

Monday, May 19, 7:00 p.m. -- A presentation about the history of Georgetown by the Friends of Georgetown History (I think) at the Georgetown Community Council meeting at Coliman Restaurant.

CORRECTED DATE AND TIME: Saturday, May 24, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. -- A historic walking tour of Georgetown sponsored by the Friends of Georgetown History and WJE Architects. Meet at Georgetown City Hall.

Saturday, June 7, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. -- Georgetown Art Attack.

Friday and Saturday, June 13 and 14 -- Georgetown Music Fest. Here's one of the handful of photos I took at last year's event:



Saturday, June 28 -- Artopia in Georgetown. Here's one of the many photos I took at last year's event.



Sunday, July 13, 10 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. -- Georgetown Art & Garden Walk. Here is one of the many photos I took at last year's event:



Is that it?

Full Throttle Bottles Grand Opening Party

I accidentally crashed the Full Throttle Bottles grand opening party last night.

A couple of neighbors joined us for dinner at Jules Maes, then we all walked over to Full Throttle Bottles afterward to pick out a bottle of wine or some weird beer or yummy cider or whatever.





And Erika told us they were about to have their grand opening party and that we should stick around. So we did.

There were hors d'oeuvres and music in the back room.



The Field Roast people were cooking up some sweet (at left) and spicy (at right) hot links.





I talked to LaDele from Friends of Georgetown History about her latest postcard find and one of the Field Roast partners about her naturopath business in that Georgetown space where the CPA psychic used to be.

We admired John Bennett's jukebox collection.



I especially enjoyed the German chocolate-y cake and the Black Cherry Cream Soda. Thanks, Erika (and kilt dude whose name I can't remember because I am lame), and good luck to you guys with your beautiful little store.

I Think I Am Going to Cry Now

An excerpt of some personal writing from Debbie Bonilla, the Beacon Hill woman who was murdered by her husband on Friday night. She wrote these words just two months ago:

I have been sober for 4 ½ months. It is nothing short of a miracle. It has been difficult, incredibly difficult, but then again so has the rest of it. I have such a long way to go, and I have no doubt that I am my own worst enemy. But I have glimpsed another way, and I long to see more. I have felt genuine happiness, and I want to feel more. I have come this far, and I want more.

If you'd like to remember Debbie, her family is accepting donations for an education find for her five children -- you can find the information through the link above.

I posted the link to the P-I article earlier; here's the Times story.